India, 15 other African countries account for 80% of malaria cases worldwide: WHO

India and 15 other countries in sub-Saharan Africa account for nearly 80% of all malaria cases reported worldwide last year, according to a report by WHO that 1.25 billion people in India are at risk to contract the virus transmitted by mosquitoes. disease. The World Health Organization (WHO) World Malaria Report for 2018, however, notes in an encouraging note that India was the only country reporting progress in reducing malaria cases in 2017 by report to 2016.

Nigeria (25%), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (11%), Mozambique (5%), India and Uganda (4%) represent five countries accounting for almost half of all cases. malaria in the world. In total, 15 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and India support nearly 80% of the global burden of malaria. In India, 1.25 billion people were exposed to malaria, the report said. Targets for reducing global rates of infections and deaths due to malaria have not been achieved.

The study reveals that while new cases have steadily decreased until 2016, their number has increased from 217 million to 219 million in 2017: the goals set by the WHO Global Technical Strategy for Malaria 2016-2030 call for a decrease in the incidence of malaria cases and mortality rates by at least 40% by 2020. The 10 most affected countries in Africa have experienced an increase in the number of cases of Malaria in 2017 compared to 2016.

Of these, Nigeria, Madagascar and the Democratic Republic of Congo recorded the largest estimated increases, all exceeding half a million cases. In contrast, India reported three million fewer cases over the same period, a decrease of 24% from 2016. However, the number of cases in African countries increased by 3.5 million compared to the previous year. Nearly 80% of malaria deaths worldwide in 2017 were concentrated in 17 countries in the WHO African Region and in India, the report says.

Seven of these countries accounted for 53% of all malaria deaths worldwide: Nigeria (19%), Democratic Republic of Congo (11%), Burkina Faso (6%), Tanzania (5%), Sierra Leone. (4%), Niger (4%) and India (4%). The report noted that while India "had made impressive progress and was on track" to meet the targets of the Global Technical Strategy for Malaria 2016-2030, it still represented 4% of the global burden of disease. morbidity due to malaria and 52% of deaths outside the WHO African Region.

India was among the countries that detected a high rate of treatment failures and reacted by changing their treatment policies, he added. The report adds that India and Indonesia are on track to reduce by 20 to 40% the number of cases by 2020. WHO, the main agency for the health of the Nations United Nations, and its partners have launched a large-scale country-led program "intervention plan – coinciding with the publication of the report – to intensify prevention, treatment and investments to protect vulnerable people and to to ensure that reductions in the number of deaths and diseases caused by malaria are restored.

The plan is based on the principle that no one should die from an illness that is easy to prevent and diagnose, and that is fully curable with available treatments. "The world is facing a new reality: as progress stagnates, we risk wasting years of hard work, investment, and success in reducing the number of people suffering from the disease," he said. the Director General of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

"We recognize that we have to do something different – now," said Ghebreyesus. A positive note was issued in Paraguay, which was certified this year as malaria-free, the first country in the Americas to have enjoyed this status for 45 years.
The number of countries close to elimination has risen from 37 to 46 and three countries – Algeria, Argentina and Uzbekistan – have applied for official malaria-free certification in the country. ; WHO.

Domestic financing has been identified as the key to the success of WHO's malaria strategy. According to the UN agency, funding, which has stabilized, must reach at least $ 6.6 billion a year by 2020, more than double the amount available today. ; hui. Malaria kills an estimated 660,000 people each year.